Lord Warner: My right honourable friend the Secretary of State has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	I am publishing today, for the first time, in-year financial forecasts for each National Health Service (NHS) trust, primary care trust (PCT) and strategic health authority (SHA). These figures—which, of course, have not been audited—show that half way through the financial year NHS bodies are forecasting a net deficit by year-end of around £620 million. These forecasts have been placed in the Library.
	A majority of NHS organisation are successfully managing their finances as well as cutting waiting times and generally improving services. Furthermore, NHS bodies typically take a prudent approach to forecasting by including a number of risks that they effectively manage by the end of the year. At this stage last year, the equivalent forecast figure was a deficit of £499 million; however, the audited 2004-05 position shows an end year deficit of £219 million. We therefore expect—and indeed intend to ensure—that the position at the end of this year will be significantly better than these mid-year forecasts. To keep these figures in perspective: the forecast deficit amounts to less than 1 per cent of the funding available to the NHS, and two-thirds of the gross deficit is due to 37 (or 7 per cent) of the organisations.
	The decision to publish these unaudited financial forecasts is a major step in increasing transparency. I have made the decision to publish the data because I want to make it clear that inefficiency and poor financial management are not acceptable.
	I am also announcing today a further important measure to address the problems in a minority of NHS organisations. Turnaround teams of financial and management experts are being sent to support the strategic health authorities, NHS hospital trusts and PCTs that have the biggest delivery challenges. These teams will be experienced in resolving financial problems and managing NHS organisations. They will focus on ensuring the organisations deliver the efficiency and quality improvements needed to achieve both financial balance and better care for patients.

Lord Rooker: My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Peter Hain) has made the following Ministerial Statement.
	I am pleased to announce today the appointment of Roger Poole as the new Chairman of the Parades Commission for Northern Ireland. I am also appointing six new Commissioners: David Burrows, Dr Joseph Hendron, Donald MacKay, Anne Monaghan, Vilma Patterson, and Alison Scott-McKinley.
	The appointments follow an open recruitment process based on merit. The new chairman and six new members will take up their posts on 1 January 2006.
	These appointments bring a completely new dynamic to the Parades Commission. The membership represents the interests of all the people of Northern Ireland. They come from a variety of backgrounds, with a broad skills mix and, for the first time, a gender balance.
	I am particularly pleased that two people with personal experience and understanding of the Orange Order and the cultural importance of parades have been appointed to the commission.
	I am appointing this commission with a mandate to work itself out of a job by helping to create an environment in which accommodations on parades can be made between the two communities without the need for formal determinations.
	I am confident that Roger's down to earth approach and willingness to engage with people will help move parades towards a new era and that he will be ably supported by the rest of the commission.
	The vast majority of parades pass off peacefully but there remains about half a dozen which are highly controversial. The violence that we saw at Whiterock in September cost millions of pounds of taxpayers money but had an even greater cost in terms of community relations.
	Northern Ireland will not be able to move into a truly stable and peaceful future while these issues remain unresolved.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Anne McGuire) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	I am pleased to inform you today of the launch of a new government unit, the Office for Disability Issues (ODI), which fulfils a key recommendation of the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit report, Improving the Life Chances of Disabled People, published in January of this year.
	The Office for Disability Issues will lead cross-government work to drive forward the report's vision of substantive equality for disabled people by 2025.
	Despite great advances in civil rights and services since 1997, outcomes for disabled people have remained disappointing in a range of areas including employment, income, and education. Therefore it is vital that steps are taken now to minimise the barriers presently preventing an individual's full participation in their community and the economy. All government departments committed to the 20-year agenda set out in the life chances report, which will be progressed through the new Office for Disability Issues.
	The ODI will provide leadership as the focal point within Government for key partners working to promote improved outcomes for disabled individuals throughout their lives. As a cross-government unit, it will both influence and challenge government from within, foster policy and programme coherence and integration across departments. Working with key government departments, the ODI will ensure prompt implementation of the life chances set of recommendations for achieving full substantive equality for disabled people by 2025 as well as developing a broader and more inclusive strategy.
	The ODI will become an exemplar in equal opportunities, a model public sector organisation in internal practices, external relations and activities. It will ensure that the views and aspirations of disabled people are at the centre of policymaking by reaching out to organisations and individuals at every step and bringing external expertise into the ODI itself. We will, for example, be advertising externally for a senior ODI post in the new year. It will change the way government communicates with disabled people and organisations, embedding stakeholder engagement in its day-to-day work. Using these networks, and analytical resources, the ODI will become a source of information and expertise on disability and support to government departments, and work to influence public perception and build awareness of disability issues.
	A core team is already in place taking this work forward, and is engaging with a wide range of individuals and organisations, and sought views specifically on the ODI earlier this year. Feedback from this exercise informed our thinking on the role and remit of the office, and is available on the ODI website, which is also being launched today.
	While individual departments retain responsibility for delivery and outcomes, the ODI will take forward some specific recommendations from the life chances report. This includes facilitating the cross-departmental Ministerial and supporting officials steering groups (these groups were established at the beginning of this year). I am very grateful to my Ministerial colleagues for their valuable work so far on the Ministerial steering group.
	The ODI will also collate and edit an annual report on progress towards the vision for substantive equality for disabled people by 2025; and will develop a set of outcome-based measures to track this progress. An independent advisory group is currently being appointed to scope out the role and remit of a National Forum for Organisations of Disabled People. The ODI will also be setting up a Task Force on Independent Living.
	In addition to fulfilling recommendations in the life chances report, the ODI will take a broader view of disability, encompassing areas not covered in the life chances report. This will include supporting other government departments in the effective implementation of the 2005 Disability Discrimination Act's public sector duty to promote equality for disabled people. As well as being a collective resource for government, the ODI will also specifically support the Minister for Disabled People.